U.S. Olympic Swim Trials: DiRado fourth in 200 IM

After two legs of the 200-meter individual medley Thursday, former Maria Carrillo swimmer Maya DiRado was right where she needed to be -- in second place behind Elizabeth Pelton. If that order could have been frozen and preserved at the finish, DiRado would be on her way to the London Olympics.

It wasn't a fair expectation, though. The second leg of that event, the backstroke, is DiRado's strongest. She isn't as dominant in the third leg, the breaststroke. She fell back a bit and finished fourth in 2:12.26, a time that resulted in a lot of pride but no Olympic spot.

"I'm really pleased," DiRado said from Omaha, Neb., site of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. "I don't know that I swam my best race, but on this stage it's encouraging."

Caitlin Leverenz, DiRado's college rival -- Leverenz swims for Cal, DiRado for Stanford -- won the event in 2:10.22, and Ariana Kukors finished second. Both will compete for the Americans in London in late July. Kukors, the world record holder in the event, was fourth in the semifinal race Wednesday but rallied to claim a berth Thursday. Pelton finished third.

DiRado had the fifth-fastest time in both preliminary heats and the semifinal. She focused on a few minor adjustments, like keeping her feet up into the walls and keeping her hands up in the breaststroke, and was able to overtake Elizabeth Beisel by 11 hundredths of a second.

DiRado is enjoying the atmosphere in Omaha, but the pace of the trials is challenging. With dozens of competitors vying in each event, 36 hours can pass between heats and the final.

"It was so relaxed (Thursday) that I took two naps," she said. "Sometimes you're so nervous you don't know what to do with yourself. Other times it's really kind of boring."

DiRado's next chance at Olympic glory will be in the 200-meter backstroke, with heats and semis Saturday and the final Sunday.

She is seeded seventh heading into the event. In other words, she's one of the best in the country -- but the odds are against her making the team.

DiRado understands those odds, which takes some of the edge off of her races.

"My summer is almost over with swimming," she said. "Pretty soon we'll be starting up again at school. For now I'm just doing what I do and getting what I can out of it. There's no pressure at all to make the Olympic team."